Today is one of those days (it’s raining and pouring and has been most of the day) when all you really feel like eating is soup.

We’ve been inside most of the day bundled up in sweatshirts and sweat pants and we turned the heat up a little higher than it’s been the past few days. We had some matzoh ball soup for lunch (from a box) which was delicious but there’s a little something, a little “je ne sais quoi” that homemade soup has that canned or boxed soup just doesn’t have, so we decided to make soup.

Epicurious had a list of the top rated salmon recipes throughout the website and this smoked salmon chowder was on the list so we decided to give it a go.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed and sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 large russet potato, peeled and cubed

1 large stalk celery, chopped

1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

2 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups milk (any fat content)

8 ounces of smoked salmon, flaked

1/2 cup of heavy cream

2 tablespoons of chives, chopped

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over low heat. Add the leeks and garlic and saute them for 2 minutes.

Add the potato, celery, salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Add the broth and simmer until the potato is tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and milk, then the salmon and bring the mixture back to a simmer for a few minutes (don’t let it boil or the milk will separate).